Prophet
by Aria6
Summary: A Rockman Zero fic about an attempt to create a new Copy of X that goes wrong... and brings forth a strange person named Daroganwyr. What does he plan for Neo Arcadia? Read and Review!


_I thought I was dead._

_It didn't come as a disappointment. My life had been forged of joy and pain, and while I had loved it, I was more than a little curious about what came after. So many of my people had gone before me, how I longed to see them again! _

I should have known it wouldn't be that simple. No… my sacrifice had bought all our lives, but the eternal mind was not finished with me yet. Could it ever finish with me? I wasn't even sure. Could I die at all?

No matter. For now, I was alive and had a purpose. And that was enough.

* * *

"The matter duplicator will work," the scientist maintained. Harpuia grimaced, but didn't bother to argue.

He was highly dubious about the claims the research scientists were making. Yes, the duplicator had managed to duplicate a banana, a rat and a low level Reploid. But using it to duplicate Master X? He wasn't sure that would work at all.

On the other hand, they didn't have a lot to lose. With Master X gone, everything was getting more and more unstable. Harpuia was trying to fill his spot, but it seemed like no one thought he could really handle Master X's duties. Rebellions here, rebellions there… Maverick incidents were on the rise. And not just Mavericks, too many humans were turning traitor and sheltering them! Because when Master X was alive, they had been willing to believe that if he said someone was a Maverick, they were a Maverick. Now, it seemed almost like they were assuming the opposite. Frustrating. They'd been forced to execute humans more than once, and while most of them hadn't really been missed, except in the slums they lived in, the situation was gradually becoming more unstable.

"Very well," Harpuia said, cutting off Fefnir before he could say something derogatory. He was particularly negative about this experiment, probably because he'd been the one to accidentally eat the first copied banana. Despite the superficial banana appearance, it had tasted like something else entirely. Harpuia didn't know what, and Fefnir wasn't talking. But Leviathan had seen him puking for a half-hour straight.

"Powering!" The scientists scrambled around as Fefnir casually stepped up to a very solid, very powerful support column. If this whole idiotic experiment went South, he had every intention of ducking behind it and putting his hands over his head. Harpuia crossed his arms, watching as the equipment gained power…

And gained power. His eyes narrowed. The amount of power to duplicate something as large and complicated as X would naturally be more than the amount for a mere Metool, but-

"Too much power! Cut it! Cut it now!" The lead scientist shouted, waving his arms, and Fefnir ducked behind his pillar.

"We can't! Something is- AIIIEEEE!" There was a tremendous flash of light, as all the equipment channeled the energy. There was a small explosion, causing the scientists to duck and run for cover, then…

Harpuia stepped forward as the smoke began to clear, his weapons ready and expression grim. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but something had been duplicated and if it was hostile, he would be ready.

It was a bit anticlimactic when the smoke finally cleared, and he saw a medium sized, unarmed Reploid in olive armor unconscious in the middle of the broken equipment. Much like Zero, Harpuia and Leviathan, his main armor was an olive vest, briefs, gloves and boots. The rest of his body was jet black, and his build was more bulky than Zero or Leviathan, closer to Fefnir's size. He wore no helmet, only a visor with a green rim that appeared to be part of his head. His features were very regular and handsome, with a square jaw, and he looked older than most Reploids, perhaps twenty-five. Thick blond hair was cut short around his face, but long bangs fell over his visor. A scarlet bandanna helped keep them out of his eyes, and Harpuia frowned, reaching down to touch it. As he had suspected, the fabric was actually some kind of artificial composite, silky and uncomfortably strong. It would double easily as a garrote.

"Who is that? What is this?" Harpuia turned to see the lead scientist picking up what appeared to be a wooden staff, capped with iron at both ends and banded with it in several spots. The iron was strangely patterned… Harpuia frowned, managing to identify it as Damascus steel. The patterns were really quite beautiful, but such an ancient weapon could hardly be considered useful. Although the scientist was having a difficult time handling it. It appeared to be quite heavy.

"That is a staff," Harpuia stated the obvious, making the scientist blush. "And as for who this is… shouldn't you be telling me that?" Harpuia prodded the Reploid with one foot, but he didn't stir, moving limply with the push. Harpuia frowned, then kneeled beside him, rolling him onto his back and checking his vital signs. No, he was alive, just very low on energy… "Fefnir, fetch an energy crystal."

"I have one on me, it was going to be a snack." Fefnir pulled it out, offering it to Harpuia. He was developing a lively curiosity about this stranger. Harpuia took it with a nod, and forced it into the unresponsive Reploid's mouth. The reaction was immediate, as the Reploid reached up to grip Harpuia's wrist. The Guardian gently detached his grip, guiding his hand to the crystal in his mouth. Soon, the Reploid had managed to swallow it.

"Uh… Wh-what…" The Reploid lifted his head jerkily. "Where… who…?" He coughed, massaging his throat and swallowing. Harpuia helped him sit up.

"You are in the Citadel, in Neo Arcadia. I am Harpuia, the ruler of Neo Arcadia." The new Reploid shot him an undecipherable look. "Who are you?"

"I am… Daroganwyr." The new Reploid answered after a long pause. "I think."

"You think? You can't remember?" Harpuia questioned, and he shook his head. "I see." Fefnir scowled, beginning to get impatient.

"Why don't we just retire him, Harpuia? He's not X and he-" There was a rippling movement, too quick for the eye to follow, and the scientist yelped as the staff was torn from his grip. Fefnir was startled as Daroganwyr was suddenly in front of him, the tip of the staff pointing at his throat.

"I would reconsider that, if I were you." He said ominously, and Fefnir growled, reaching for his weapons.

"Enough!" Harpuia stepped between them, pushing down Daroganwyr's staff and fixing Fefnir with a glare. "We brought him here, Fefnir. We are at least minimally responsible for his welfare." His sense of honor would not let them simply retire the strange Reploid as a failed experiment. And… Harpuia turned to look at him. "You are very fast. Would you consider becoming part of Neo Arcadia's army?" He seemed to consider that a moment.

"I might. I would have to know more about this place, first. I am really very confused." Harpuia nodded, respecting his candor. He turned to the lead scientist, who had been looking over the computers.

"What have you found out about him?" The scientist jumped, then cleared his throat.

"Erm… well, you see, he seems to be a strange combination of X's blueprints and… erm, something else." The scientist typed rapidly at the computer. "I'm not sure about what else. It seems an alien blueprint became mixed with X's schematics… I really can't explain it…"

"My mother loves me," Daroganwyr said with a sigh, making Harpuia and Fefnir both look at him sharply. "And I am her son."

"You are a Reploid, Daroganwyr," Harpuia said with a frown. "You are no one's son." Daroganwyr only shook his head, then smiled wryly.

"If you believe that, you don't know all the possibilities… but, I cannot remember enough to explain," he said, forestalling questions. "Please, call me Daro." Harpuia hesitated, then nodded.

"Very well… Daro. Would you like to see the rest of the Citadel?" Harpuia asked politely. He strongly felt that it was there duty to see to this Reploid's place in society, since they had inadvertently created him. And that speed offered some truly fascinating possibilities. He was easily as fast as Phantom had been. Could he possibly take the lost Guardian's place? If he could, they would have realized a solid gain from the debacle. Perhaps they could even try again, sometime.

"I would be honored," Daro replied just as politely, and Harpuia called a soldier to take the new Reploid around. He would have done it himself, but the duties of the ruler of Neo Arcadia were endless…

* * *

"…And this is the cafeteria," The Neo Arcadian soldier who had been detailed to show Daro around was quite happy with his role as tour guide, smiling as he showed him the large room with many small tables. It was quite cozy, really, with light yellow walls and well padded chairs. Right now, there weren't many Reploids there, only a few sipping coffee and relaxing. Also a few humans, mostly research scientists and repair crew. Daro looked at some of the platters of food, and tilted his head.

"Do Reploids also eat human food?" That startled his guide, but he had been told that Daroganwyr was suffering from amnesia.

"Oh, but of course! Crystals are naturally more concentrated, but they're rarer. If we all had to depend on them, things would be a thousand times worse. Crystal generators are bad enough…" Daro frowned, not really understanding, but followed the soldier quietly. Then the soldier halted, so abruptly that Daro almost ran into him. But the soldier was considerably shorter than Daroganwyr, who was a few inches taller than Harpuia, and he was able to easily see who he was speaking to. A very pretty girl in blue armor, with short bangs and very large blue eyes.

"Who is this?" Leviathan said, scowling up at Daro. He was almost a head taller than her, which was slightly annoying.

"Lady Leviathan!" The soldier snapped off a salute, as Daro cocked his head to one side. "This is Daroganwyr. He was created… uh, brought here… uh, something by that experiment the scientists were running?" Leviathan returned Daro's quizzical look with more interest, now.

"Oh, that one where they were trying to make a copy of Master X? Hm! It didn't work, I see," she observed. "Couldn't mistake you for X on a dark night."

"I believe they said that X's blueprints were mixed with something else," Daro said easily. "Lady Leviathan, may I greet you?" Leviathan looked puzzled. As far as she was concerned, he already had.

"Uh, sure…" She blinked as he took her hand, raising the back of it to his lips in an ancient and courtly gesture.

"Bella Donna," he murmured softly, enjoying the sight of her flush. "Honor to your house, great lady." She blushed even more, snatching her hand back with a scowl.

"We don't do that here," she snapped at him. "And I'm not a Bella Donna, whatever that is!"

"But you certainly are," he corrected her gently. "Bella Donna means beautiful woman." That only made Leviathan blush more, and threaten him with her spear.

"Go! Get out of here!" Daro bowed to her, before letting the Neo Arcadian soldier drag him away. Leviathan watched them leave, flustered and uncomfortable. She had never been treated that way by a man before, and it had been flattering but… strange. Too strange to be comfortable. Daro glanced back over his shoulder, briefly meeting her gaze, until Leviathan blushed and whirled away. Then he turned back… but he was smiling, amused.

* * *

_And that was how I began my new life, in this strange place called Neo Arcadia, as this strange thing, a Reploid._

_Around me, I could sense a vast well of sorrow, pain, and paucity of the soul. Something was draining these people, and a terrible ennui had settled over them. They needed something new, something clean and free and true. It wouldn't be an easy thing to provide to them, but I could sense it was my task. That was why I took the name Daroganwyr._

_Daroganwyr__ or Daroganwr. It means predictor, prophet. I have the gift of sometimes knowing the future, but the things I would preach would come only from my heart, to feed these soul-starved people. Perhaps I would succeed, perhaps I would fail._

_But in the end, I needed to honor my oath. And by that oath, I had to try._


End file.
